Editing Commodore 900 (section)

{{Short description|Prototype microcomputer}}
{{Infobox information appliance
| name = Commodore 900
| image = 
| caption = 
| developer = [[Commodore International|Commodore]]
| manufacturer = [[Commodore International|Commodore]]
| type = [[Desktop computer|Desktop]]
| media = 1.2 MB 5.25" floppy disks<ref name="microcomputers-sep-oct-85">{{cite magazine |last=LeBold |first=Diane |date=September 1985 |title=Commodore Announces Unix®-Compatible Business System |url=https://archive.org/details/Commodore_MicroComputer_Issue_37_1985_Sep_Oct/page/n11/mode/1up |magazine=Commodore Microcomputers |publisher=Contemporary Marketing, Inc. |volume=6 |issue=37 |page=10 |isbn=0-88731-047-8 |issn=0744-8724 |access-date=2020-10-16}}</ref>
| os = [[Coherent (operating system)|Coherent]]
| cpu = [[Zilog Z8000|Zilog Z8001]] @ 10 MHz<ref name="microcomputers-sep-oct-85" />
| memory = 512 [[kilobyte|KB]] RAM<ref name="microcomputers-sep-oct-85" />
| storage = 20 MB hard drive<ref name="microcomputers-sep-oct-85" />
| predecessor = [[Commodore PET]]
| display = 1024×800
| graphics = [[MOS Technology 8563]]
| sound = None
| units shipped = Fifty prototypes built
| aka = C900, Z-8000, Z-Machine
}}
The '''Commodore 900''' (also known as the '''C900''', '''Z-8000''', and '''Z-Machine''')<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commodore 900: The Unix-like workstation/server that was eclipsed by Amiga – VintageComputer.ca |date=21 September 2019 |url=https://vintagecomputer.ca/commodore-900/ |access-date=2022-12-14 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="hughes1985">{{Cite book |last=Frank Hughes |url=http://archive.org/details/commodorec900hardwarespec |title=Commodore c900 Hardware Spec |date=1985-03-01}}</ref> was a [[prototype]] [[microcomputer]] originally intended for [[business computing]] and, later, as an affordable [[UNIX]] [[workstation]].<ref name="commodoreinfo_c900">{{Cite web |title=Commodore Info Page - Brochures: Commodore 900 [en] |url=https://www.commodore-info.com/brochure/item/commodore_900_01/en/mobile |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=www.commodore-info.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0JVAAAAMAAJ&q=Commodore+900+-wiki |title=Mini-micro Systems |date=1985 |publisher=Cahners Publishing Company |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=42UUAQAAMAAJ&q=Commodore+900+-wiki |title=Predicasts Technology Update |date=1985 |publisher=Predicasts |language=en}}</ref> It was to replace the aging [[Commodore PET|PET]]/[[Commodore CBM-II|CBM]] families of personal computers that had found success in Europe as business machines. The project was initiated in 1983 by Commodore systems engineers Frank W. Hughes, Robert Russell, and [[Shiraz Shivji]].<ref>Bagnall, Brian (2006). ''On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore'', Variant Press. Page 434. {{ISBN|0-9738649-0-7}}</ref>

In early 1983, Commodore announced an agreement with [[Zilog]] to adopt the [[Zilog Z8000|Z8000]] family of processors for its next generation of computers, conferring rights to Commodore to manufacture these processors and for Zilog to manufacture various Commodore-designed [[integrated circuit]] products. Zilog was to manufacture components for Commodore's computers, allowing Commodore to expand its own [[semiconductor]] operation.<ref name="computerworld19830124_zilog">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/computerworld1711unse_03/page/n77/mode/1up | title=Commodore to Use Z8000 Family in Its Micros | magazine=Computerworld | date=24 January 1983 | access-date=10 March 2023 | pages=77 }}</ref> Commodore had reportedly been developing its own 16-bit microprocessor, abandoning this effort to adopt the Z8000.<ref name="computerselectronics198403_6502">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ComputersElectronics1984-03/page/n27/mode/1up | title=16-Bit Version of 6502 Announced | magazine=Computers & Electronics | last1=Libes | first1=Sol | date=March 1983 | access-date=10 March 2023 | pages=32 }}</ref>